Tales from an amateur
genealogist
By Jillaine Smith
Washington DC
May 2000
Table of Contents
What we knew before the trip RootsWeb Mailing Lists,
the Buffalo Betz Project, and confusion
about Terminology "Jews & Mormons Join Forces to Achieve Genealogical
Victories" The Speyer Archives Civil & Emigration Records Mother's Day & New Questions Surface Resources A Postscript |
Introduction
In May of the year 2000, my husband and I traveled to Germany for a wedding. We expanded the trip to do some genealogy research and to explore the countryside of my ancestors. This document is about that trip and the research that went into preparing for it. Elisabetha Betz was my great-great-grandmother, and the inspiration behind this work. I want to share with the genealogy community the experience I had there. I am an amateur genealogist, and I learned a great deal in the process of preparing for this trip, as well as on the trip itself. I hope that my experience can be useful to other people who are researching their ancestors. I also hope that more experienced genealogists will review this document and contact me (you'll need to modify that email address to make it work) with any corrections or clarifications they think I should make. I'll be happy to make them. I want to thank everyone on the Internet, especially the marvelous community throughout RootsWeb, who has contributed so generously and patiently to the growing number of family researchers. Thanks are also due to Darcy McCabe for her incredible ability to quickly learn German script and be so generous with her skills; and to my husband, Philip Bogdonoff, for his ongoing love and support (and patience) with this latest hobby of mine. -- Jillaine Smith |